It's just a Misunderstanding
by Slayzer
Summary: Hope's feelings for Vanille are getting in the way. Snow has the brilliant idea of having Lightning role-play as Vanille so Hope can work on confessing his love. But are the feelings in Light's heart for Hope just pretend as well? Hope/Vanille/Light


Yes your reading that Tag in the bottom right. I the self proclaimed number one Hope/Light Fan boy have made a Hope/Vanille fic.

Well it's kind of a love triange fic with Hope/Vanille/Light that will end Hope/Vanille.

Okay let's just get right into it.

Final Fantasy XIII is owned by Square Enix and not me.

But I will say I'm getting pissed at them. Bastards release NieR Replicant Ultimate Hits for the PS3 in Japan but don't port it over to the US. Not that I don't love Nier but I would like to have played the other one if they gave me the chose but they didn't.

Bunch of selfish pricks.

A/N The games aren't worlds apart and only the age of the hero you play as is different. However the hero in version they released to the US, the one I have, looks like an over the hill steroid addicted wrestler with a bondage fetish. Not my first thought when I think of dad of the year.

It's just a Misunderstanding.

By Slayzer

"How could you be so careless!" Lightning yelled for what must have been sixth time.

Hope who was sitting on a rock just hung his head at the beratement Lightning was giving him. In their last battle Lightning was close to killing an enemy when Hope hit it with the wrong elemental spell and healed it. Lightning got hit in it's counter attack. Of course they still won but Lightning wasn't going to let Hope off the hook.

"Hey come on Sis lighten up. It's not like you never took a hit before and to Hope's credit I'm amazed he can remember what spells work on what monster as well as he dose." Snow said trying to come to the Hope's add.

Hope looked up but bowed his head again. "No it's alright Snow. I messed up and Light got needlessly hurt because of it."

Lightning relaxed a bit. It was always a good thing when someone admitted their mistakes but she wasn't done with Hope yet. "Hope I've noticed that you've been slipping for the past few days. I didn't want to say anything about it but after this I can't just ignore it any more. Something's distracting you isn't it Hope?"

"I... don't want to talk about it."

Lightning then sat down next to Hope and put a consoling arm around his shoulders. "I trust you Hope. Every time we go into battle I put my life in your hands so if you want me to keep trusting you then I'm going to need to know what bothering you."

"It's complicated."

"Everything that's happened to us has been complicated so that's nothing new. Come on I want to help but I can't if you won't talk to me."

"That's it Light I can't talk to you about it." Hope said while he was barely able to meet her eyes.

"Why not?"

Hope didn't say but Snow had much better insight into Hope's reluctance. "I see what's got Hope all turned around. Your having girl troubles aren't you Hope?"

Hope blushed red and nodded.

Lightning took her arm off Hope and felt like she was had just wadded into a pool but now found herself in the ocean. Romance was vastly out of her depth. If Hope was struggling with lose, remorse or combat fatigue then she could help him but relationships were something troubling for Lightning as well.

Snow didn't have any trouble with relationships and happily sat down next to Hope on the opposite side of Lightning. "If that's all it is then it's no sweat. Me and Lightning will be happy to help you out, right Sis?" Snow smiled and Lightning could see that her obvious discomfort with the subject amused him.

Then she felt Hope looking up at her too. He looked so lost and out of his depth but even if he couldn't say it she saw in his eyes that he wanted her help. What else could Lightning do. "Of course I'll help anyway I can."

"Thank you the both of you." Hope said already brightening up and that made Lightning feel a little better herself.

"So what's the problem Hope?" Snow asked patting the young boy on the back.

"Well there's this girl I like..."

Snow nodded along all the while grinning like a fox. "Okay. So you like a girl and her name is Vanille?"

Lightning jumped up. "Snow!"

"Yes I am in love with Vanille but every time I try to say something to her I just can't get the words out. This damn brand makes me feels like my life is on a time limit now and if I don't tell her soon then it might be to late. I just can't keep doing this without letting Vanille know how I feel about her."

Hope's confession of love for Vanille left Lightning a little stunned and hurt. She didn't know why but in some ways it felt like Serah telling her about Snow. It was like Lightning was being passed over. Lightning knew that to feel like that was ridiculous but that was how it felt and she couldn't help that.

Snow however didn't have any trouble understating Hope's problems or his doubts on what to do about it. "Well that's easy. All you have to do Hope is tell her how you feel and that will be the end of your anxiety. So have you thought of what to say to Vanille?"

"Yes, but even when I'm by myself I can't say the words right. I know I'd screw it all up if I even tried to say it to Vanille in person."

"You know I had the same problem trying ask Serah to marry me. I had friends help me out with that too. What I did was run through what I was going to say with Lebreau. So all you need to do is practice confessing your love for Vanille with Lightning."

"What!" Both Lightning and Hope yelled as they faced blushed red.

"Come on it's only pretend. Besides it really dose help to go over what your going to say. I mean obviously Lightning is no Vanille but even so it should help."

Lightning crossed her arms. "What do you mean I'm no Vanille?"

Snow caught the look in her eyes and backed away. "Well you know Vanille is just so kind, cute, cheerful and thoughtful and your well, you."

Hope jumped up to bravely put himself between Lightning and Snow before violence broke out. "Not that there's anything wrong with Lightning being herself, isn't that right Snow."

"Right, right! No one's more themselves then Lightning." Snow added hastily seeing how this could only end badly for him.

Lightning tuned away in a huff. "Fine if then. If were going to do this then I guess I should be less like me and more like Vanille."

Hope and Snow watched in stunned silence as Lightning pulled her hair into pigtails. She looked absolutely foolish but Lightning didn't stop there. She cleared her voice a few times to make it sound lighter. " Tra la la la! Looky look the sky is so nice and blue today. The weeds are so wonderful and scratchy and just look at those rocks over there. Even the smell of dirt and chocobo shit fills me with the memory of my magical homeland. Pulse is so wonderful!" Lightning then coughed to clear her voice again and sound normal. "There that was Vanille like right?"

Snow was beside himself. "I think Lightning just tried to make a joke. I don't now if I should laugh or run for the high ground."

Hope wasn't at all amused by the poor parody of his lady love. "Vanille may be carefree but she's not a moron."

Snow shrugged sympathetically. "Don't worry about it Hope. Nothings wrong with falling in love with a cute dumb girl. Hell look at me, I'm marrying Serah and you can't get much more dumb and cute into a girl then her."

Snow then laughed at his own joke but was cut short by Lightning's boot hitting his face. Once the big man was down Lightning started stomping him on veracious parts of his body for a good minute. If Hope had to guess the reason Lightning stopped wasn't because of his cries of pain but that she was getting a bit winded.

"So now that that's out of the way let's do this Hope." Lightning said as she pulled her hair out of the pigtails and sat down.

"Okay..." Hope was getting nerves already. "Well, Lig... ah that is Vanille. There's something I've been trying to say for some time now. And well..."

Lightning raised a hand to stop Hope. "Your doing it all wrong Hope."

"What am I doing wrong?"

"A lot. First off women like to see confidence in their men and I know you have that to spare but your to nervous for that confidence to show. Be direct but not blunt and just say what you feel."

"Right, okay I'll just say how I feel."

Hope took a deep breath and focused. He then leaned in close to Lightning. "Your my guiding light. If it wren t for you I would be lost and can't thank you enough. Words fail me to describe how much you mean to me. This adventure you brought me along on and my time with you has been the best of my life. I don't know what we'll face going forward so I want you to know how I feel about you." Hope then took hold of Lightning's shoulder and held her gently. "I love you."

Lightning felt her heart skip several beats and her body tingled. This was supposed to be role-playing but Hope's passion came across so strongly that it was making her swoon.

Lightning licked her lips. "Maybe I should help you practices kissing too."

Hope was a little shocked. "Huh! But if we did that then it would be my first kiss..."

Hope didn't have much say after Lightning pulled him close started lesson one. Lightning's lips were not at all like Hope had thought they would be. So much of Lightning was hard and cold like steel but her lips were heavenly soft. Hope tried to think of Vanille but he couldn't and it should have made him feel horrible but it didn't. At that moment the only thing in the world that existed for Hope was Lightning's lips.

That world suddenly came crashing down on Hope and Lightning.

"Whoa! Talk about the young and the bold but I can't tell which on is which." Fang said as she walked over for a near by outcropping of rocks startling Hope and Lightning.

And where there's Fang you'll find Vanille not far behind.. The younger Pulseain was not as amused as her friend. Vanille did smile but it was forced and broken, not the pure loving smile of always made Hope happy. "I'm so happy for you both..." Vanille didn't sound happy. In fact she was fighting back tears.

Vanille suddenly turned around and ran away from the sight of Lightning holding Hope in her arms. Her friend's departure left Fang speechless for a moment. "Where are you going Vanille!"

Vanille didn't stop to look behind her and just kept moving.

Fang turned around and gave Hope her best death glare. She wasn't sure how all the dots connected but she was sure of one thing, Hope had betrayed and hurt her friend.

Fang marched right over to Hope and ripped him away from Lightning and pulled the boy up by his collar. "What the hell did you do to Vanille!"

Hope didn't know what to say but the fact that he had betrayed Vanille hurt him more then anything Fang could do to him. Yes, he also knew Fang could do a lot when a rage was on her.

"Put him down Fang." It was not an order but a very calm threat Lightning said as she got to her feet. Her hand brushed against her gunblade as she rose.

Hope was sure that right here in this moment between Fang and Lightning when both woman's tempers were high was the most dangers place on Pulse. After several tenses moments Fang let go of Hope and the boy fell unceremoniously to the ground.

Fang put her hand up and backed away slowly but the fire in her eyes didn't dampen in the lest. "Fine keep him for all I care but you'll make sure your little Boy Toy stays the hell away from Vanille if he knows what's good for him."

Hope just stayed on the ground his fist balling into the dirt as he fought back tears of his own. "Damn it what have I done. It's is all my fault. If only I had."

Lightning knelt down next to Hope and hugged him. At first Hope tried to shrug off Lightning's arms but the damage had been done. As low as Hope was feeling it was nice to have Lightning's arms wrapped around him, her embrace gave him some much need resolve.

"Don't blame yourself Hope, this was my fault so if you need to be angry with anyone it's me."

Hope turned to face Lightning and she saw such furry in his beautiful green eyes that she hadn't seen until that time in the Gapra Whitewood . This time however the furry was aimed at her and not Snow. Lightning regretted saying Hope could be angry with her as she wasn't ready for what that would mean.

Hope just shook his head and let the misguided anger bleed out of him in a deep sigh. "No Light this isn't your fault or mine. It was an accident and a misunderstanding that I need to clean up with Vanille." Hope then returned Lightning's hug.

The dread Lightning was feeling at Hope anger and hurt disappeared into his arms. She knew that this misunderstanding was as more her fault then Hope's but somehow she didn't care. Lightning cared that Hope was hurting and in pain but no so much that Vanille was now out of his reach. If that was the case then she could be the one to comfort him in his lose.

For the first time in Lightning's life she was conflict between what was right and what she wanted. The right thing would be to help Hope and Vanille clear up this misunderstanding but what Lightning wanted was this, Hope needing her and only her.

Lightning but those thought out of her head as she let herself enjoy the sweet betrayal of Hope's arms around her body.

-end-

Okay now I know this wasn't very much a Hope/Vanille. In fact I bashed her a bit. Truthfully I'm not a Vanille fan if the slightest and for much of my game she sites out in the menu bar.

I'm really trying to stretch myself out here by don't a Hope/Vanille and even playing with the idea of a love triangle with Hope/Vanille/Lightning.

I don't think I'll get back to this anytime soon but when I do the next chapter will wrap this up with a whole bunch of Hope/Vanille goodness for you all.

If you really do need a Hope/Vanille fix I'd recommended. "Words Said In The Dark" by The Genius Mage Divine Wolfe. A great fic and from I die hard Hope/Light fan like myself that's saying a lot.

Anyway read and review if you please.

P.S

But I don't want to hear any Make it Hope/Light!

I'm set doing a Hope/Vanille and that's not negotiable.


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